Disney Still Selling "Problematic" Splash Mountain Merchandise in Parks

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Disney Still Selling “Problematic” Splash Mountain Merchandise in Parks

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Posted on November 10, 2022November 11, 2022 by Luke Dammann

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Br'er Rabbit Splash Mountain sign at Walt Disney World

Credit: Inside the Magic

Even though The Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts have a ton of new and exciting things to look forward to in the coming years, few projects will ever receive the amount of adoration, confusion, and criticism as Disney’s decision to retheme its iconic log-flume ride known as Splash Mountain.

Walt Disney in front of disneyland castle — Credit: Disney

Announced back in the Summer of 2020, this retheme will drop the original and somewhat “problematic” Song of the South (1946) theme and replace it with a brand new story based on Disney’s The Princess and the Frog from 2009.

Details on the overhaul have been sparse, though earlier this year, we learned that it would be opening in 2024. Disney promised even more information on the new attraction at its D23 event, and boy did we get some information.

splash-mountain-retheme-bayou-adventure — Credit: Disney

Above is a scale model representing what Guests can expect the new attraction to look like. While not much is different on the outside, we can hope the inside will be completely different.

For those that may not know, the attraction is based on the film Song of the South, which is extremely controversial as many deem it racist. Because of how controversial this film is, a retheme was announced for the attraction a few years ago, which would turn it into a ride based on Princess and the Frog (2009).

In fact, the movie is considered by many the most controversial and notorious film in Disney’s history.

brer bear brer rabbit splash mountain — Credit: Disney

The film cannot be found on Disney+ and has not officially been released by Disney in many, many years. It’s been extremely hard to find merchandise focused on the property and attraction because of the offensive nature of the film as well as resellers swooping in on their chance to turn a profit.

Until now, that it is.

splash mountain zip a dee doo dah riverboat — Credit: Disney

As you can see in the photo shared on Twitter below, Disney is still selling some merchandise featuring characters from Splash Mountain and Song of the South:

That shirt with Brer Rabbit on it is back

That shirt with Brer Rabbit on it is back 👀 pic.twitter.com/UrzAzwX7pp

— Sammyland (@Sammyland6) November 7, 2022

It’s interesting to see this shirt still being sold at Disneyland, especially after it could not be found for quite a while. Br’er Rabbit has become synonymous with the Disney Parks, just like Academy Award-winning “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah” song featured prominently in the ride.

Are you excited about this new attraction? Let us know in the comments below!

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